Knowledge Share Event 9 June 2020Summary from Raconteur.net May 2020

“Motivating a remote workforce and finding new ways to innovate and thrive is proving difficult during lockdown”. “Remote managers’ biggest concern is employee productivity”.

Adopting an OKR, or objectives and key results-based, approach is one way of doing this. This was first developed by Intel boss Andy Grove in the 1980s and then adopted 20 years later by Google, in start up mode; it then spread rapidly throughout Silicon Valley and is now used by Amazon and Airbnb, Walmart and ING bank.

​OKRs have two components;

1. an objective, or short description of what you want to achieve
2. and key results, which consist of 2-5 metrics, which are used to measure progress towards hitting the objective set.

Process
The CEO sets business objectives for the year ahead and how it will be measured although in these times monthly goals might be better.
Senior leaders do likewise and evaluate quarterly.
Individual employees work towards operational OKRs; at this time maybe daily.
It is vital that people see how they contribute to the overall goals; clarity and focus, OKRs are an anchor in tricky times.

Roof shots versus Moon shots
OKRs should include achievable objectives but also stretch targets that may not be achieved. Only having achievable targets does not account for the innovative or creative risks that would push a company forward (like Google). With OKRs your performance does not have to be perfect because you are free to learn in the process and take different approaches.

Yes the CEO has to set clear milestones but innovative strategies often come from the bottom up.
This is a strategic shift towards a culture based on innovation with calculated risks; the OKR culture rewards learning over strict, rote performance. Grow and pivot. Realign goals quickly in line with the market.
Employees need to be ambitious, autonomous self-starters. But if they are not we can still shift the culture.

(If you are wondering about the relevance of the picture of Sophie, our cake baker, well she has pivoted and grown her business in the pandemic. Its fair to say though that she just had no idea about OKRs! She altered her offering, changed her marketing and came out busier than before. PS the wine bottles don't belong to her)

We facilitated two knowledge shares last week (29th April and 1st May) in advance of any definite government guidance to share ideas on how HR are planning a phased return to work. We shared some good ideas so here is a video summary of both discussions. 

Click here to go to YouTube .Be warned that neither I or Edwina are polished presenters! 
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Today we don't know how the lock down will be lifted; no doubt in stages and keeping social distancing for some time to come. Plus possibly moving to another lock down at a later stage...who knows? Therefore sensible HR professionals will be working with their senior teams in scenario planning in order to be ready for most eventualities.

However we should also be taking time to think about creating a "new normal" after this is over. Do we definitely want to go back to the way we were at work or do we want to take this opportunity to redefine working practices? (One client is planning to downsize office space, introduce hot desking, and only have employees in the office on a rota type basis.)

Join us for a scenario planning discussion to share ideas on what we COULD do in the near and far future. Cake and HR members will have the chance to discuss on the 29th April but we will have a bigger Zoom session on the 1st May 11-12.30. This will be advertised on EventBrite and open to only 30 HR Managers. Watch out for the invitation.

Not only should we plan scenarios but also dust off the change management practices and theories that we know and love (?). The picture below shows a comparison of Lewis's unfreezing / freezing model and Kotter's 8 stages.

Lewin talks about unfreezing when in fact this has been forced on us; no need to get employees to see the need for change. It's happened. So in reality we are in the moving stage of change; a chance to try out homeworking ( which was always a step too far for some senior managers but now they find it's actually ok) and use the tech to our advantage.

We are now in the moving (change) stage so it is now the time to plan the rest of this stage with the added benefit of planning how to refreeze the "new normal".
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We believe that plans need to be developed in two or three phases:

1. Staff audit to determine who we can bring back and who may still be self-isolating? Also, are there any employees with underlying health issues that we want to protect?
2. Review of the Government’s updated advice on ‘social distancing’, what can we do to implement social distancing in the workplace? Can we keep teams working remotely at least for the short term? Do we bring them back in shifts?
3. What do we want our organisation/workplace to look like in the future? What will our ‘new normal’ be?

​Join us for the knowledge share of the year!

Strengthscope® is the only Strengths test that has achieved registered test status with the British Psychological Society.  Strengthscope profiling increases self-awareness and allows people to have honest, authentic conversations about what makes them truly unique, what they love to do, and how they can bring their best to work and to life, every single day.

Strengthscope is free to cakeandhr members from July 2020  and if you wish, you can use some of your three hours of coaching from your member benefits to explore your profile further and design a plan to develop your work-related strengths. 
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Here is an example of the Strengthscope wheel, which forms part of the profile report, the purple lines are our ‘significant strengths’, these are our 7 strongest work-related strengths and therefore the ones that motivate us or energise us the most. What are your significant strengths? Email hello@cakeandhr.org for more information.

If you suddenly find yourself managing your team remotely rather than in the usual office environment you may find this resource useful. Just download the PDF, get a cup of tea and a few biscuits, and see if there any tips you could usefully put in place.

Some employees working from home for the first time will find it an absolute pleasure and others may feel lonely; either way its not really a difficult thing to do. On the other hand as a remote manager you do need to be more systematic in your communications and direction than before. Make it as easy as possible for them and help yourself feel more in control; a bit of a plan has a great impact further down the line.

Our top ten questions for managers to check that they are using the right techniques to build a performance culture:

1. In my leadership role what do I pay most attention to? How do I react when things go wrong? (It's not what I say, it's what I do / how I behave)

2. How do my people know which are the most valued behaviours at work?
After role modelling the next step is to be clear about the top three or five ways of working, therefore these ways need to be articulated and referred to. Never promote someone who does not have the behaviours you need for your work.

3. Am I recognising different motivations and strengths in my team and actively working to build on those?

4. Are team members outcome focused? Have we agreed outcomes? Are they clear?

5. Have I agreed the right mix of objectives with individuals? 
Objectives are there to focus effort in the short term so are they clear and agreed? Do they include development as well as task based objectives?

6. Do I delegate correctly and check on progress at the right intervals? 
Have I designed face to face check in points with individuals? Am I asking the right questions and, above all, am I listening to what they say?

7. Do I deal with underperformance fairly and swiftly? 
Leniency erodes culture.

8. Am I aware of my biases?
We all have them. Know them and take steps to counteract.

9. Do I schedule time for important work?
Or am I a blocker? Do I firefight? 

10. Have I got the right communication "scaffolding" for my team?
Do I use the right channels for the message and the audience? How do I ensure the messages have been received correctly? How do ensure I listen?

HR: Are You Ready?
We were all reminded yesterday at our Cake and HR round table discussion with the CBI that any employees who are EU nationals should be aware that free movement will end by 31 December 2020, which means that if they wish to apply for settled status they should do so as quickly as possible. And not just employees but relatives and friends too.  

There is no fee and the app is available on any device now. 

Of course we cannot force anyone to apply but simply lay out the facts as we know them. Employers are not, and will not, be required to check that current employees have settled status but by the beginning of next year it is likely that we will have to check settled status for new employees. That means if an employee moves to a different employer the check will be made then.

A few of our members have talked about how they have given out as much information as possible to EU employees in order to demonstrate that we want them to stay and feel valued.

A few more tips came out in the discussion:

1. Take care not to discriminate in hiring at this time by not appointing an EU national.
2. There is an Employers Toolkit available from the Home Office.
3. And finally ....carry out an audit NOW on all Right To Work Checks to make sure that everything is in order ready for the end of free movement.

Watch this space for announcements following the February Cabinet meeting and new salary thresholds expected for visa applications.